Collapse in folds like those of a concertina
Two new artists’ books in process
Something Reverberated
and
With wings outstretched and quivering
Concertina. A small musical instrument, by definition, played by stretching and squeezing a central bellows between the hands. A concertina can also refer to a piece of paper extended, compressed, or collapsed in folds like those of a small musical instrument, and it is to this definition we refer when we are talking about our two artists’ books in process.
Something reverberated and With wings outstretched and quivering are currently under a light weight. As they rest, let us take a look at the steps so far, because this part, when we see the elements come together and the collages become a book, is our favourite part.
Journey on, with a scroll or glide.
To preserve and share our favourite part, we have branched into tall-screen looping world of Reels. When not trying to capture the musicality of Arthur ringing his bell, and in rehearsal on a Sunday Morning, and the back and forth hunched shuffle of with Lenni upon one’s shoulder, we set up the tripod to record our hands as we dashed, dashed, dashed the page, and measured, scored, and folded in the upstairs space at Arten.
An afternoon concertinaed into a minute as 378 centimetres of With wings outstretched and quivering concertinaed into 18 pages.
A forest walk followed the compression route, and lo! a book appeared upright upon the table.
As we look now at the earlier steps in the process, working on the paper that will cover like book cloth the boxes, the marks were more open as they landed. These boxes will house individual editions of each artists’ book with green for the forest meander and pink for a bowerbird’s consideration. Slowly, quickly, as layers have been added, and are still being added, the pattern, like a forest, has grown denser, informed by our walks to spot wattle and get lightly soaked, because everything is connected in this sense too. Our days are woven into the beloved process.
These visual records of where it began and where it is headed, allow us to see the whole, to see if the outside matched the inside’s voice. Allow us to generalise our focus, just as you do when you try to see the flitting movement of a bird. These home recordings (featuring a glimpse of Arthur, if you soften your birder’s focus) reveal a meshing together. Book with box, and box with book, and something more than we can describe.
Something reverberated is being made especially for Biosphere, a group exhibition, curated by Felicity Spear, at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, late September through early October, 2021.
Biosphere — a sense of belonging will also include works by Harry Nankin, Debbie Symons, Rosie Weiss, and Felicity Spear.
With wings outstretched and quivering is one of 34 shortlisted works in the forthcoming 2021 Geelong acquisitive print awards at Geelong Gallery. The original Bowerbird collages, of which this artists’ book is a variation of, were created especially for Genevieve Lacey’s Bower. This artists’ book would not be possible without Genevieve’s generosity to allow us to grow this collages into an artists’ book, now, and the hopeful gift of a glorious commission, then. Genevieve, you gave us wings!
Do yourself a favour and consider purchasing or streaming Bower, released through ABC Classic earlier in the year.
Image credit: Pink crested bower bird postcard, ca.1905–ca.1910, 8.8 x 13.8 cm. approximately, State Library Victoria
